Day by Day

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Souter joined the majority in ruling New London, Conn., could seize residents' homes to make way for a hotel, convention center, office space and condominiums near Pfizer Inc.'s new research headquarters because it would benefit the public by creating jobs and increasing tax revenues.

A group of Weare residents calling themselves the Committee for the Preservation of Natural Rights already has gathered the 25 signatures required to place the seizure measure on the town ballot in March. Souter, through a spokeswoman for the court, has declined to comment.

Bin Laden comes out with a new tape. He's petering off. He used to come out with full DVD box-sets right after September 11th, and now he's down to about one bad VHS tape a year.

But anyways, it seems I was wrong when I said that he was a greasy spot on a cave wall a few years ago. Whattayagonnado? Cancel your subscription? I'll admit I was wrong, you admit that I admitted I was wrong, and we'll all be happy. Well, I won't be happy, because I'm reserving that for when bin Laden gets gangraped by a group of thugs in prison, right before we throw him into Old Sparky and throw the switch. It's not too christian of me, but I get a smile on my face when I think of that.

But anyways, my question to you is this: At this point and time, do you really give a shit about what bin Laden has said, or does this just make you think "We gotta get better guidence systems on those JDAMS."? At this point, the only info that we need from those tapes is anything that can help us pinpoint where he is. So that we can dial in the coordinates to the Tomahawk missle that gets launched at him.

By the way, did anybody notice who we got with that bomb in Pakistan? Abu Khabab al-Masri. The head bomb maker and top dog of Al-Qaeda's WMD program.

Ooops. I guess those "innocent civilians" weren't so innocent after all, eh? As TVE has stated before, if you're inviting Al-Qaeda over to dinner and chanting "Death to America!" then I really don't have too much pity for you when that bomb falls. Innocent civilians my ass. Lemme guess - Tojo and Mussilini were just "misunderstood", right? That who association with Hitler? They just had him over for dinner a few times, that's all!

I just wish they'd drop bigger bombs. We developed the MOAB, let's use the damn thing! "Enjoy your 72 raisins, Muhammad al-Goatfucker!"

Alright. Time for me to get off my ass and go to work. See you all later.

Since the Supreme Court's controversial Kelo decision last summer, eminent domain has entered a new frontier. It’s not just grandma’s house we have to worry about. Now it’s God’s house, too. “I guess saving souls isn’t as important,” says Reverend Gildon, his voice wry, “as raking in money for politicians to spend.” The town of Sand Springs, Oklahoma, has plans to take Centennial Baptist — along with two other churches, several businesses, dozens of small homes, and a school — and replace them with a new “super center,” rumored to include a Home Depot. It’s the kind of stuff that makes tax collectors salivate. It’s also the kind of project that brakes for no one, especially post-Kelo. “I had no idea this could happen in America,” says Reverend Gildon, after spending Monday morning marching in the Sand Springs Martin Luther King Day parade.

It's long past time to push back on the Kelo decision. At this rate, no private property is safe if someone else can built a supercenter on it.

Thursday, January 19, 2006

From the Financial Times comes this little beauty, French Nuclear Retaliation. “The leaders of states who would use terrorist means against us, as well as those who would consider using in one way or another weapons of mass destruction, must understand that they would lay themselves open to a firm and adapted response on our part,” Chirac said during a visit to a nuclear submarine base in northwestern France.”

First of all this is the French talking and they can puff out their chest all they want. But, I know that nobody is going to believe them. This being from, the same country that was overwhelmed for more than a week by Muslim kids ( islamists, poor, or whatever else you want to classify them as). The same group of idiots that said Hitler was a good guy until he walked in and made them another Nazi Province. They can say whatever they want, to whomever they wish… Can’t say that I am buying it.

Of all the nuclear launch scenarios that have passed through your mind, in your entire life, when has one of them included a nuclear first launch from the French. I would have to say that NEVER, is what travels through you head. As much as I have seen from the French Military in Gulf War I, and in history books as well, useless…gutless…worthless, just don’t seem to cover it.

And they wonder why they are still being targets, even though they have been against the US retaliation since the very beginning of this “War on Terror”. Second thing… This is the French we are talking about!!!

Be a part of the problem, be a part of the solution… Either way, stop flapping your lips when you know that nobody in the entire freaking world believes you mean it. And get the hell out of the way of those that will take action.

Sure, it's political posturing but I don't care. This is the issue of our day. I'd like nothing better than to see 100 of 100 Senators rattling their sabres at Iran. Let's see if Senator Kennedy can get as redfaced about a closed Straits of Hormuz as he does about No Child Left Behind.

UPDATE: More here. I could drink a whole bottle of bourbon right now and still be sober.

If there are places in America that resemble plantations, with wealthy whites living in relative comfort while scads of black folk wallow in poverty and hopelessness, they are places like Camden, New Jersey, and Detroit, Michigan, America's most dangerous and poorest cities, respectively.

Any guesses as to who has controlled city government in those places for the past forty years?

At the ceremony, Mrs. Clinton, the junior Democratic senator from New York, said that Democrats were largely responsible for much of the nation's progress in areas like civil rights and women's rights.

But she suggested that things had changed in recent years with the Republicans in control of the White House and Congress, according to a transcript of her remarks.

Mrs. Clinton added that the House has been "run like a plantation" under Republicans. "And you know what I am talking about," she said. "It has been run in a way so that nobody with a contrary point of view has had a chance to present legislation, to make an argument."

Democrats are responsible for much of the nation's progress in areas like civil rights? Gee, would that be the same Democrats who attempted to filibuster the 1964 Civil Rights Bill? Led by KKK Grand Kleagle Robert Byrd? THOSE Democrats, Hillary? Are there any other crowning achievements by the Dhimmocrats that we need to know about?

The political party that demands everyone walk in lockstep is the Dhimmocrats. The political party that punishes it's members for having a few different opinions is the Dhimmocrats. The political party that has done more to limit both your civil rights and your constitutional rights is:

The Dhimmocrats.

And to see Hillary pontificating in a church, with Al "Tawana Bradley" Sharpton at his side, makes me want to vomit.

My father has had an opinion on her for years: "She cannot lose the Democratic nomination in '08. She cannot win the presidency."

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

OK, so follow along here: If you're Pat Robertson, and you claim that Ariel Sharon had a stroke because God was striking him down for splitting up the Holy Land, then you are officially a raving nutcase.

As we think about rebuilding New Orleans, surely God is mad at America. He sent us hurricane after hurricane after hurricane, and it's destroyed and put stress on this country. Surely he’s not approval (sic) of us being in Iraq under false pretenses. But surely he is upset at black America also.”

...and you're a black, Democrat mayor? In the most corrupt city in America? In the most corrupt state of America?

Well then, you're just hunky-dory with the worthless hypocritical shitstains known as the Democrat party!

And by the way, if you're a corrupt, black, Democrat mayor, it's also just fine for you to define a city by the color of it's inhabitants.

MAYOR RAY NAGIN: We as black people, it’s time, it’s time for us to come together. It’s time for us to rebuild a New Orleans, the one that should be a chocolate New Orleans and I don’t care what people are saying uptown or wherever they are, this city will be chocolate at the end of the day.

So not only is he corrupt and an idiot (but he's a Democrat, so we already knew that) he's also a bigot! Yay! It's a three-fer! Isn't his speech just perfect for MLK day? "I have a dream, that one day those honkeys will be driven out of my city so that the black race can take over!" Yeah, dig it! Maybe that was the reason he was so incompetent during Hurricane Katrina. How many buses sat while floodwaters slowly covered them? Maybe his plan was to just let the crackers drown. Down with the man! Especially if he's white! Equality for everybody! Fuck you honkeys! Equal rights! New Orleans is chocolate!

In Monday's edition of the NEW YORK SUN, reporter Brian McGuire and contributor R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr., break the first look at the long-anticipated report from Independent Counsel David Barrett, whose investigation lasted 10 year and cost taxpayers $23 million.

The SUN outlines the report's details surrounding the alleged illicit activity and cover up that involving former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Henry Cisneros before and during his time in the Clinton Administration.

The Sun reveals that the Barrett report connects the dots that allege that senior officials of the Clinton Administration hindered investigations by the IRS in both Texas and Washington, as well as the investigations of a grand jury examining the independent counsel's evidence.

The full report, more than 400 pages, with more than 100 pages of redacted material, hits the street on Thursday morning at 9 am...

When the Dhimmocrats shriek like little schoolgirls about corruption, it's simply a matter of projection.

I don't seem to remember the media making much of a fuss about corruption and cover-ups in the Executive Branch itself. Of course, that was "good corruption," I suppose, just like there are "good leaks."

The Democrats fought to have one entire quarter of the report redacted.

Must have been out of concern for national security. Lot of big military secrets tied up in the Housing and Urban Development Department.

Monday, January 16, 2006

The military is big on pomp and ceremony. Some of it seems outdated, and some of it is deadly serious. But a military funeral is one of the most solemn occasions you will ever experience in your life. The rendering of final honors to a fallen soldier will shake the soul of anyone with a fragment of a heart left.

I'm on one of three teams from Puerto Rico who carry out the ceremonies. I rotate from being a pallbearer to a member of the rifle squad, depending on where they need me at the time. But one other ceremony that people in Puerto Rico perform that I haven't seen done anywhere else is receiving the body when it comes into the country, at the airport.

It's a simple ceremony in the grand scheme of things. The pall bearers receive the body from the airplane and escort it (i.e. carry the casket) to the waiting hearse. Sometimes there's no one around but other military personel. Sometimes the family is there.

That's what I'll be doing tonight.

I know I'm far from being the only person who has been part of a funeral ceremony. But seeing as this is a fellow soldier, and there but for the grace of God go I, every time I participate it reaffirms my belief in what we're doing.

Running from Iraq would dishonor the deaths of the people who are coming home one last time. Withdrawl would render their sacrifice null and void, pointless. This is what the Democrats want.

I believe it's my duty to ensure that the Dhimmocrats don't get what they want. Not just for myself, or for my readers, but for the men and women I escort back to their families.

Day is done, gone the sun,From the lake, from the hills, from the sky;All is well, safely rest, God is nigh.

As I made my way through the usual pile of MSM drivel, I came across an article on MSNBC. The headline read, "Pakistan Islamic groups decry U.S. after strike - Purported CIA strike missed intended al-Qaida target, killed civilians". Now at First glance, you get the usual 5 paragraphs about the "innocent civilians" getting killed in a Predator Drone strike by the CIA. As well as, the anti-american demonstrations that took place following the bombing. Then comes the truth and the most freaking important part of the damned article. The "innocent civilians" invited Zawahiri to dinner! At this point, you are no longer an innocent civilian. If this was to happen here in the good ol' USA, you would be arrested for aiding and abetting a known felon. But in the world of the Middle East and terrorist haven, you need to duck hellfire missiles and bombs. If you don't want to spend your day hiding from missiles and bombs, don't invite freakin' terrorists to dinner. If you do decide to invite them to dinner, do not be stunned when all your stuff gets blown up and your family ends up in body bags.

Sunday, January 15, 2006

It's time again for more fun with juxtaposition! We begin our journey into the current state of affairs in the country of Iraq which Democrats have been claiming we lost to the "freedom fighters" of al Qaeda since we set foot in the country. It seems that the determination of President George W. Bush to ignore the ignorant defeatist proclamations of Democrats and create a constitutional democracy where once was a brutal, terrorist-supporting dictator who had almost waited out a failing sanctions regime in order to procure his hearts content in weapons of mass destruction has given even his hardest-hearted loyalists a choice between self determination and self destruction, and go figure - they're choosing self determination:

Iraqis are increasingly saying that they regard Al Qaeda as a foreign-led force, whose extreme religious goals and desires for sectarian war against Iraq's Shiite majority override Iraqi tribal and nationalist traditions.While American and Iraqi officials have talked of a split for months, detailed accounts of clashes were provided by men claiming to be local insurgents ...According to an American and an Iraqi intelligence official, as well as Iraqi insurgents, clashes between Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia and Iraqi insurgent groups like the Islamic Army and Muhammad's Army have broken out in Ramadi, Husayba, Yusifiya, Dhuluiya and Karmah. In town after town, Iraqis and Americans say, local Iraqi insurgents and tribal groups have begun trying to expel Al Qaeda's fighters, and, in some cases, kill them. [I]n most Sunni cities, Iraqis defied Al Qaeda's threats and turned out to vote in large numbers on Dec. 15. "The tribes are fed up with Al Qaeda and they will not tolerate any more," said a senior Iraqi intelligence official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The intelligence official confirmed reports that a Sunni tribe in Samarra had tried and executed Qaeda members for their role in assassinating a local sheik. "It was a beautiful mistake," the intelligence official said of the sheik's assassination by Al Qaeda. "Now the tribes will kill Al Qaeda. Now they have the courage." "It is against my beliefs to put my hand with the Americans," said an Iraqi member of the Islamic Army who uses the nom de guerre Abu Omar. Still, he said in an interview in a house in Baghdad, he allowed himself a small celebration whenever a member of Al Qaeda fell to an American bullet. "I feel happy when the Americans kill them," he said.

The story told by the two Iraqi guerrillas cut to the heart of the war that Iraqi and American officials now believe is raging inside the Iraqi insurgency. In October, the two insurgents said in interviews, a group of local fighters from the Islamic Army gathered for an open-air meeting on a street corner in Taji, a city north of Baghdad. Across from the Iraqis stood the men from Al Qaeda, mostly Arabs from outside Iraq. Some of them wore suicide belts. The men from the Islamic Army accused the Qaeda fighters of murdering their comrades. “Al Qaeda killed two people from our group,” said an Islamic Army fighter who uses the nom de guerre Abu Lil and who claimed that he attended the meeting. “They repeatedly kill our people.” The encounter ended angrily. A few days later, the insurgents said, Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia and the Islamic Army fought a bloody battle on the outskirts of town. The battle, which the insurgents said was fought on Oct. 23, was one of several clashes between Al Qaeda and local Iraqi guerrilla groups that have broken out in recent months across the Sunni Triangle. American and Iraqi officials believe that the conflicts present them with one of the biggest opportunities since the insurgency burst upon Iraq nearly three years ago. They have begun talking with local insurgents, hoping to enlist them to cooperate against Al Qaeda, said Western diplomats, Iraqi officials and an insurgent leader.

RAMADI, Iraq — Qassan Ashar Ali, 24, and his brother Omar made their way past three checkpoints, two bomb-sniffing dogs and an X-ray truck and became the first recruits to enter the glass factory in Ramadi after last week's bombing. A few months ago, Ali saw masked gunmen shoot his cousin — a former police officer — four times in the head. Despite the assault, Ali wanted to follow in his footsteps. "I want to try to secure my city," he said. Behind them were at least 225 young Sunni men, many carrying sport bags with clean clothes, toiletries and pictures of loved ones for their trip to the police academy in Baghdad. "We've been scared for a long time," Ali said. "We've had enough." U.S. commanders hope the turnout of people such as Ali signifies a watershed moment in Ramadi, the provincial capital of Al Anbar, which is among the most brittle of cities in Iraq. "The Iraqi army is important, but it's the police that will be responsible for the rule of law," said Maj. Robert Rice of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, who oversees the Iraqi police program in Al Anbar. "They're the foundation to be able to fight a counterinsurgency." Commanders here say they garnered support for the recruitment drive through weeks of meetings with clerics and sheiks, some of them with ties to local rebels. Americans hope to drive a wedge between local rebels and radical Islamist elements of the insurgency — in part by recruiting locals to police the city. The focus on the Iraqi police is part of a countrywide priority shift for the Americans, who have long worked on building the Iraqi army. Political and military leaders have dubbed 2006 the Year of the Police. At the same time, the U.S. military has launched a strategy to combat bombings. Last week, Operation Green Trident was launched 25 miles south of Fallouja, involving hundreds of coalition and Iraqi soldiers. The sweep netted about 11 tons of munitions from 72 sites, mostly shallow holes along the banks of the Euphrates. The military also is using bomb-sniffing dogs, high-altitude spy drones and citizen tips to curtail bombings. Coalition forces anticipate more attacks like those at the factory gates as progress is made toward establishing a permanent Iraqi government. "Increased attacks across Iraq this past week clearly indicate Al Qaeda and other terrorists still have the capability to surge," coalition spokesman Brig. Gen. Don Alston told reporters Thursday in Baghdad. "As democracy advances in the form of elections … and government formation and military pressure continues, we expect more violence across Iraq." The Bush administration has said it wants to have working Iraqi security forces before considering a drawdown of American troops. And that, commanders say, is the incentive they offered local leaders. "We basically have a common vision: We certainly don't want coalition forces in their city forever," said Army Col. John L. Gronski, commander of the 28th Infantry's Second Brigade Combat Team, based in Ramadi. "They want their city to return to normal. They understand the more they fight the coalition forces, the longer we're going to stay." Withdrawal moved to the top of the agenda shortly after Brig. Gen. James L. Williams, assistant commander of the 2nd Marine Division, and Al Anbar Gov. Mamoun Sami Alwani persuaded key leaders to enter into a dialogue, said Col. Miles Burdine, commander of the governance support team. "It gave us an opportunity to say, 'If you can convince the sons of Al Anbar to join Iraqi police and the Iraqi army … we will leave,' " Burdine said. The first meeting to discuss withdrawal conditions, which drew 200 Sunnis from Ramadi, sparked the formation of Al Anbar Security Council, which has since met weekly with U.S. commanders. As Sunnis have shown more willingness to engage and participate in elections, U.S. commanders have shown more readiness to meet with rebels or those connected to the local insurgency, commanders said. "We have more of an open mind than we may have had in the past," said Gronski, who assumed control of the area in July. "Right now it seems promising, and we're ready to trust the local leaders." But, he added, "we're still out there engaging the [radicals] with bombs and with bullets."

And while good men and women put their lives on the line and sacrafice in order to create a free Iraq and partner in our fight against terrorism, sad sacks like John Murtha (who seems to be the only leadership voice in the Democrat party regarding the war in Iraq) has this to say:

I think the political people who give advice will say to him (Bush), ‘You don’t want a Democratic Congress. You want to keep a Republican majority, and the only way you’re going to keep it is by reducing substantially the troops in Iraq,’” Murtha said.

You'll excuse us for laughing in the face of such advice, Mr. Mogadishu. It's nothing more than wishful thinking on his part. One could almost forgive him for his misplaced confidence if he based it on the results of polling like this:

First, only 81% of respondents were even eligible to vote, and there's no indication of how many of them actually went to the polls in 2004.. 1. Party Leanings - The poll is slanted 52-40% towards Democrats, even though the voters in the 2004 election were split evenly at 37% between Republicans and Democrats.2. Religion - Next, a whopping 19% of respondents had "no" religion, while in 2004 only 10% of voters had "no" religion, and they voted overwhelmingly for Kerry (+36%). 3. Age of Respondents In this poll 31% of the respondents were between 18-34, even though the 18-29 year olds (a slightly smaller demo) only made up 17% of the electorate in the 2004 election. I think it's pretty safe to say that by including 30-34 year olds that number would still not have come close to the IPSOS sample.4. Income Level of Respondents - This one is amazing. In this poll 15% of respondents made under $15,000 per year. In 2004, only 8% of voters were in this income bracket, and voted 63-36% for Kerry.5. Marital Status - In this poll, only 56% of respondents are married. In 2004, 63% of voters were married, and voted 57-42% for Bush.6. Geography - In this poll, only 17% of respondents were from "rural" areas. In 2004, 25% of voters were from rural areas, and voted 57-42% for Bush.7. Race - In this poll, there were 71% white respondents and 12% Hispanic respondents. In 2004, 77% of voters were white, and only 8% Hispanic. Bush won the white vote 58-41% and Kerry the Hispanic vote 53-44%.

Here's a poll Mr. Murtha may or may not be aware of and one that should give him pause as it is an example of what can be accomplished in a country where brutal oppression existed where a legitimate government should have been.

83% of Afghans say their country is moving in the right direction. 81% of Afghans view the US favorably, with 83% approving of US troop presence in-country. Meanwhile 88% have an unfavorable view of the Taliban, 82% think overthrowing them was a good thing, and (drum roll) 90% view Osama bin Laden unfavorably, with 75% of that total being "very unfavorable."

In Iraq we are on the verge of attaining the cooperation of the last hold-outs of the brutal regime of Saddam Hussein. They are coming to the realization that we are there to improve the lives of all Iraqis. Iraqis as a whole are now working toward a future that they will determine just as their neighbors in Afghanistan have been doing. The Afghanis have had a head-start as they were liberated from the Taliban before Operation Iraqi Freedom began. Iraq just became a constiutional democracy while Afghanistan has had a constitution and democratically elected President for over a year. There are about the same number of people in each country. Each is composed of Shia and Sunni muslims. Afghanistan does not have the natural resources that Iraq does, which means that as Iraq's economy comes fully online, it will boom. Polling in Iraq 1 year from now should be similar OR BETTER than what we are seeing in Afghanistan right now. The Democrats know this. That's why they are solely focused on "withdrawal". Can't have "the appearance of victory". That is why they are sad.